Tax free? Infrastructure free? skill free? and road free zones to spur economic growth? What exactly is going to happen in those zones that are going to be raising any capital in any meaningful globally competitive way? Sharking skilled labor from parts of the country that have paid their dues perhaps ... but other than digging ditches or setting up posh ass wiping resorts for uber rich people, I don't really know who benefits from this type of "economic stimulation."

And @6, there are these strange studies that suggest that these "cheap standard of living zones" and wages are heavily subsidized by the government in terms of medicaid and earned income tax credits that raise these people above poverty at the benefit of those that actually do contribute to the tax base of the nation.

@35 It's not that they competing with each other for tenure or prestige. It's that they live in stressed out fishbowls creating a group of people that nit pick their frail and infrequent social interactions like an experiment being monitored for 24 hours straight. It's just not worth adding fuel to the fire.

Dan is wrong. I agree with @17 and @18. Because dating is so rare, it's going to turn into a big production, you know, being a male and having the audacity of dating two women in the same department will provide gossip fodder for years regardless of how trivial the dates are. If it were me, I would cancel one of the dates with an apology saying that I do not want to date two people in the same department because this is a non-drama zone. Most importantly, it sets up your sphere as a no drama zone, maybe the word of that will get around people will level their expectations accordingly. Obviously be a polite and respectful person at the date and have a good time.

I have come to expect no emotional maturity from academic types. It's unfortunate, as most of us sort of feel guilty when we chose to have emotional connections with human beings outside of the lab in unprofessional settings. I would put anyone associated with the University at the bottom of the list if I were online dating, if it's meant to happen it would happen under more casual circumstances.

I'm inclined to agree with most of the posters, Paul you need to take a road trip and start living in places like Houston and Corpus Christi. Atlanta and Kansas City also make the "liveable" list mean that the standards in the US have gotten low.

If she is horny for hot male, un-confident, and afraid she is going to die not sleeping with these vapid creatures, then let her. If she comes out lucky at the end, finds a "soulmate" then awesome. She has to be more proactive than just wimpering and whining, and she is going to have to break a sweat. Otherwise, let her drone on about her depression.

Wow, boredom brought me back here ... but you know what? My two cents. Please don't fuck 18 year olds, please don't import 18 year olds. You can't even take them to the bar, you can't introduce them to your friends without drama. and It's not necessary. Especially if you are going to fall HARD for them. Try at least making the cut off 21, 22 and he might be through college!

That and you are overly obsessive, and you try to make everyone happy, the slogging community up to and including said 18 year old. (Could that be why you didn't explicitly say "herpes"?) Yeah be SLIGHTLY more mindful next time, BUT tell everyone to fuck off. Don't worry about being so polite, and don't worry about offending the 18 year old. There are a number of things that can scare off 18 year olds post getting off. (Tell him you are late on your period! ) He could be masking his anxiety about hooking up and blaming you for "herpes". If that's the case, tell him to grow a pair, and that's all you have to say.